Legislation to End Marijuana Prohibition, Huntsman’s Family Politics and More in Capital Eye Opener: June 23

Your daily dose of news and tidbits from the world of money in politics:

FEDERAL MARIJUANA PROHIBITION TO END? Reps. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) and Ron Paul (R-Texas), as well as other lawmakers, will propose a bill today to end the 73-year old federal prohibition on marijuana.

According to a press release by the Marijuana Policy Project, the legislation would “limit the federal government’s role in marijuana enforcement to cross-border or inter-state smuggling, allowing people to legally grow, use or sell marijuana in states where it is legal.”

More than a dozen states have laws that allow the sale of marijuana for medical use, but because marijuana is illegal under federal law, federal authorities have raided some marijuana shops.

Over the years, Frank has been the most popular with marijuana reform political action committees, receiving a total of $18,250. He is followed by Maurice Hinchey (D-N.Y.), Sam Farr (D-Calif.) and George Miller (D-Calif.). Paul is the 12th most popular recipient of marijuana reform money receiving a total of $6,000 since 2002.

STAFFERS CONTINUE TO GET OUTSIDE INCOME WHILE IN GOVERNMENT: A top aide for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) was paid $1.2 million by Comcast Corp. after he started employment in the Senate. David Krone, a former telecommunications lobbyist and top executive at Comcast, had set up a deal where his former employer agreed to buy his condominium protecting him from substantial loss, according to Brody Mullins and Danny Yadron at the Wall Street Journal.

Krone isn’t the only staffer to receive payment from former employers while working for Congress. In total, about 250 congressional staff members earned a total of $13 million in 2009 from former employers, companies they run or side jobs, the article concluded. The pay-outs varied in size from $2,700 in a bass fishing contest to hundreds of thousands of dollars in deferred compensation.

The ethics manuals of the Senate and House state that members of Congress and their staffers “should never accept benefits under circumstances which might be construed by reasonable persons as influencing the performance of official duties.”

The rules still allow the majority of aides to have financial ties to companies that could be affected by their work as long as the ties are disclosed on an annual basis.

The aides of Senate committees are, however, under stricter rules. Senate Finance Committee aide David Hughes received $56,500 deferred compensation from his former employer, the biotechnology company Amgen Inc., and as a result, was barred from working on any issues related to the company.

Employees and the PAC of Comcast Corp. are currently Reid’s 19th top contributor when ranked against other corporate, union or special interest entities. Krone, who is now Reid’s chief of staff, has an extensive history of employment in the private and public sector and can be viewed at his OpenSecrets.org revolving door profile.

HUNTSMAN’S FAMILY GIVES NEARLY $25,000 TO REID IN 2010: The GOP presidential candidate Jon Huntsman seems to have some political differences with his family.

The Huntsmans have long been supporters of Reid, the Democratic Senate majority leader, according to the Las Vegas Sun. Huntsman’s parents, brothers and in-laws combined to give about $25,000 to Reid’s campaign during the 2010 election cycle.

In addition to donating to Reid’s campaign, Huntsman’s parents, Jon and Karen, brother Jon, and sister in-law Brynn have given $245,700 to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee since 2004, according to the Center’s research. (Click below for enlarged image):Huntsman responded to the Las Vegas Sun article on Twitter saying, “I’ve never donated a dime to @HarryReid and wouldn’t. My record in Utah balancing budgets very different from his.”

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